Muse Family

Family Pictures 2011

2011-10-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Lori took some pictures of us. We were way excited on how they turned out.

Sledding for the first time

2011-03-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

This year I really wanted to take the kids sledding since they have never really been and I wanted to see their reaction. When Rich was off one Monday and we borrowed our friends sleds and off we went. They both had a blast. In fact they were brave enough to go down face first. A few times Lexie tried to take off before we were ready. Apparently my kids don't fear anything. I don't know if that is a good thing or bad. I have a feeling we will be paying a few trips to the hospital in the future for all their mischievousness. Of course now I probably just cursed myself. Enjoy the little peeps pics.

Lexie the Conqueror

2011-01-27T12:14:00.000-08:00

One day while I was cleaning up after lunch. I saw Lexie on top of Robbie in the laundry basket and they were having so much fun...

lu lu and her 27 dresses

2010-10-07T21:17:00.001-07:00

My little baby girl is not a baby anymore. Lexie is preparing to go to nursery soon. Now she is running all over the place. I can't believe how fast time flies. She brings lots of joy in our life with all her little smiles and giggles. It will be exciting to watch her in her new adventurous stage as she takes the world in being active. I love dressing her up in all of her cute dresses. Here is a tribute to her first year posing in some of her many dresses.

Her one year shot with more to come.

End of Summer

2010-09-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the end of summer is near. It seems like this summer has gone by so fast. This last month, we have been extremely busy gearing up for preschool and watching Lexie turn into a toddler. Our sweet little children our growing up so fast.

Robbie likes to pretend that his socks are his gloves. He has become so obsessed with dressing himself, that sometimes it is not worth the fight and I just sit back and laugh at what he will come up with next.

Lexie love playing with Robbie when he will give her the time of day. I think it is so cute to watch kids get enjoyment out of the simplest things such as a laundry basket.

After a year of waiting. I finally was able to finish the long awaited trilogy of hunger games. I seriously am so obsessed that I read this entire book over a long weekend. Although I was a little disappointed with the ending. If anyone is having this as a feature in their book club, let me know I would love to discuss it talk about it.

Rich is starting his last year of his EMPA masters program at BYU. Yeah, I am so proud of you honey. It has been a big adjustment and we are looking forward to when he can finally graduate.

I don't know who these kids are but it reminded me of my old days at Copper Hills when I use to run cross country. This month I have been training to run my first half marathon that my friend Sarah has organized on September 25th. I have always ran 5k races and now I want to see how far I can push myself. I probably won't be able to walk afterwards, but I am excited to try. Ultimately I want to complete a Triathlon so this will be a good test for me. Wish me luck!

Rich and I went to go see Inception to celebrate our 6th anniversary on August 7th. We had a great time considering we don't ever get to go to the movies together. We both were impressed with how the movie turned out so much that we want to see it again. This would be a great show to discuss the twisted ending.

Lexie Lu is starting to walk around the house by holding onto furniture. She is such a joy in our life. We feel truly blessed to have both of our cute children.

I think Lexie has a sweet tooth for chocolate just like the rest of the fam.

Apparently both Robbie and Lexie our restless sleepers and always end up in the funniest positions. They are constantly rolling around and it is hard to keep a blanket on them. I think this is why Rich and I never get a good nights sleep when they end up in our bed. I guess that is just one of the many sacrifices parents must endure.

what we've been up too lately

2010-07-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went up to the 4th of July Kaysville Parade with the Goar family (Rich's friends from TX). Robbie was so excited about all the candy he was collecting off the streets and couldn't wait to try the big popcorn ball.
Rich and Lexie kicking back. I don't think she knows what to make of all the noise. She looks startled.
I love dressing Lexie up with all her cute accessories. I bought the Patriotic dress last year on sale before she was born and the little red shoes we got from a friend. I hope that she loves playing dress-up as much as I do one day.

You can tell I was pretty tired that day so Lexie and I decided to take a little nap. June has been a crazy month for us. First we celebrated my sister's wedding where Robbie was the ring bearer and Lexie was the flower girl. Then we celebrated Robbie's birthday with my family in town. Most of my pictures are on my sister's camera so I will have to post that later. June 21st-23rd the Laurels, leaders and I took off on a river run trip up in Jackson Hole which was a blast. Rich and Robbie went to TX that same week to visit grammy and scary grandpa as Robbie calls them. Rich also got to see Jesse & Kim and some high school friends. Lexie had a fun night at my sister's house until I returned home. The rest of the week was pretty lonely without Rich & Robbie, but it was a nice break and we were able to do some house projects.

Spring Madness

2010-04-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

Yeah, spring is finally here and my tulips are popping up. We have been making a lot of changes around the house lately that it seems like forever since I last posted. Here is a little update of what we've been up to the last few months.

Robbie has started taking more interest in Lexie, now that she laughs and cackles and can sit up on her own. He decided that he wanted to give her a ride just like daddy does to him.He has taken a interest in her so much that sometimes he wants to be like her or he acts this way in hopes of getting more attention from me. He has even started eating vegetables again in baby food form and all of Lexie's little puffs for teething. He insists that his teeth are hurting and he needs them more.

We went to a few Easter egg hunts even though their was snow on the ground and Robbie had a blast. He was more excited about what was in his basket then meeting the Easter bunny. I could not get him to look up.
Lexie all bundled and waiting for the hunt to be over with so she can go back in the toasty car.Robbie anxiously waiting for the fireman truck alarm to go off.

Easter morning. Robbie was thrilled to finally be able to have his own egg carton. He loves to help mommy crack real eggs. I think he was disappointed when he found out they were made of marshmallows instead.
Yes, I know I am bad. I gave Lexie her first dose of sugar before she is one. How can you resist a face like that. She didn't eat the whole bunny. Daddy and Robbie stole some, but I'm sure she would have if given the opportunity.
Happy Easter!
Lexie doesn't seem to mind being on her stomach like Robbie. I wonder if she will crawl sooner, she has been rolling around a lot lately. Uh-oh sounds like trouble!
Robbie pulled the Tang out of the closet while I was in the shower because, he wanted a drink and though he could help himself. Well it ended up in a stomp fest with him and Weston dancing in the kitchen. I still have orange spots deep in my carpet that don't seem to want to come out.
His feet became permanently orange for a few days. I guess his bath water wouldn't cut it. I didn't realize that Tang is like a form of Kool-aid.
Lexie and I getting ready for church in our Spring clothes. Originally we though she might wear this for Carly's wedding, but I think she might outgrow it by then. We shall see.
Lexie laughing at her brother being silly.
Robbie doesn't ever really want to hold Lexie so it is hard to get a picture of the two of them together.

My little old man is trying on his ring bearer outfit for Carly's wedding. Now we just need to cut his hair. Whew.... sorry for the long update.

Eating time

2010-02-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

Robbie when he was first learning to eat. It is amazing how much Robbie and Lexie look alike when they were babies.

So the other day I was feeding Lexie dinner and I went to my bedroom to give something to Rich real quick. When I came back to the kitchen Robbie had taken over the feeding for me. I was so surprised that he was doing this, normally he could careless what Lexie is doing as long as it doesn't interfere with him getting attention. He was so cute that I continued to let him feed her even though he was getting more on her chin then in her mouth.

Christmas in Idaho

2010-01-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

This year we went up to Idaho to spend Christmas with Rich's family. It was fun to watch Robbie get excited to open his presents. He wasn't to thrilled about opening Lexie's presents since mostly she got clothes, but it was funny to see his cute little expressions. Christmas is always better with little kids anyway don't you agree?

Camden and Lexie hanging out. Can you believe he is 2 months younger and bigger than Lexie. He is a cute chubby baby.
Aunt Lindsay and I just happened to dress our kids in similar fashion on Christmas day and we did not plan it that way. We couldn't resist taking a few pictures when they came over to hang out with us.
Robbie with his new toy train from Grandma Williams.
Grammy Muse holding Lexie in her cute red Christmas jammies.
Lexie being her little smiley self.
Lexie in her santa hat and dress. I have a feeling that she won't give me any problems taking lots of cute pictures.
The camera lighting was poor in this shot, but I thought she was cute in her little hoodie.
You can tell that Robbie was just thrilled to get another picture taken (lol). Oh well, one day I will catch his smile on camera.

Lexie will probably be a daddy's girl since Robbie is a mommy's boy right now.Grandpa Lee and Lexie exhausted from a long Christmas day.

My beautiful daughter

2009-12-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

On November 1st my beautiful daughter Alexis Jaeden Muse was blessed by her Father Richard. I can't believe she has only been with us for a couple of months now. We are so blessed to have her in our family and I can't get enough of her cute giggles and smiles.

Lexie and mommy getting ready for church and her big day.

First we put Lexie in her tiny white tights with little ruffles on her bottom. Lexie in her white slip and her pretty smile!

The white flower seemed to overpower her head so we opted out and went to the next option.

We couldn't decide which accessory to put on her. The hat that is came with was too pioneer like although Rich and I had a good laugh with her in it. You can tell she was pretty scared about this one.

Finally we picked the simple white bow since her head it still too little.

Lexie all decked out and ready to be blessed.

She does have eyelashes and eyebrows, they are just very blonde. My precious little girl.

If only I could get both kids too look at the camera and hold still. One day I will get the shot.

Better Late than Never

2009-12-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

I ended up getting this the day of Halloween at Children's Place for like 2 dollars so I couldn't resist dressing her up even though it is a little big on her.

My favorite part about Robbie's costume is his big claw feet that go over his shoes. Old Navy always has the cutest little costumes!

My first Halloween jammies/outfit.

The cute cousins Addie and Katie and Ethan below!

Okay, I am finally getting around to posting some Halloween pictures. Robbie was a dragon this year and Lexie was a flower. We drove up to Heber for Halloween this year to go trick or treating with the cousins. Robbie really enjoyed eating the candy out of his pumpkin this year. He didn't get a very good nap that day, so he was pretty tired and couldn't quite keep up with his cousins. Lexie was just content to sleep in mommy and daddy's arms. It was a fun night overall!

Family Fall photos

2009-11-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened since Lexie was born. I feel like I am so behind. Here are some family photos that Lori took of us in Bridal Veil Falls. If anyone needs their pictures taken, Lori (my sister-in-law) does a great job for an affordable price. I will be posting some Halloween pictures when I can pull them off of my father-in-law's camera.

She's Here

2009-09-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

After being a week overdue, we ended up going to the hospital to be induced and all turned out well. I am happy that my labor was only nine and a half hours opposed to the twenty-three hours it took to get Robbie here. Plus I only had to push for 15 min. opposed to over 2 hours. I was pretty happy with the overall process. Plus my epidural didn't run out this time, so it was a lot less painful. We were pretty worried when Lexie came out with the epidural wrapped around her neck twice and the fact that she was holding it. It was almost like she was strangling herself. Luckily it did not harm her or do any permanent damage other than she was really purple the first few days. I think she looks a lot like Robbie when he was born, so we are curious to see how she turns out as her features develop more. We are just so grateful that she is a pretty mellow baby and that she is healthy and well. Here are her stats in case you are interested: Alexis Jaeden Muse was born on Sept. 14th at 5:54Pm weighing 7.12 ounces and she is 20 inches long.

Fast asleep in her little bassinette.

She wasn't too happy in this picture, can you tell?

Lexie's first sponge bath.

Her look kills me. She makes me laugh with all her funny faces.

I might get a chubby baby this time, I can see her double chin is already forming.

Lexie's first car ride home.
Preparing to leave the hospital on Thursday morning in her first girlie outfit.
Robbie meeting baby Lexie for the first time.
Papa holding Lexie and giving her lots of kisses.

Lexie getting her first check-up and we are so lucky that she is healthy and well.

Still waiting

2009-09-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

While I am anxiously waiting my little girl's arrival. I decided to post a few things of what we've
been up to lately. I made it through girls camp up at Bear Lake and it was a total blast. It was more like a relaxing vacation than camp. If I had to rough it, I probably would of been less likely to go considering how far along I am.

Lisa, Sara and I (pregnant girls) went for a princess ride on the weenie tube. We didn't fall in of course we had the choice to jump in or be pulled back to the boat. It was fun to watch the other girls get whipped around though.

Sara and I decided to go for a wave runner chase after giving all the beehives and the under age girls a ride around the lake. I am amazed that I was able to find a life jacket that could actually go around my belly.

Here is a shot of us leaders on the boat hanging out. (From left to right: me, Becky H., Sara A. and Lisa W.)

For our last playgroup of the summer we went to Thanksgiving Point (The Ancient Life Museum) and boy it was crowded. The kids seem to enjoy the dinosaurs and playing in the clay. Here is the best shot I could get, with a few of them looking.

This ancient shark on display was gargantuan. I would hate to be eaten by this shark or any shark in general, but especially this one.

Alas, Robbie was pooped and took a long nap. You will notice he fell asleep with Mr. Potato head glasses on his face and his hat. I think he was trying to imitate Mr. Potato Head. He obsessed with Mr. Potato Head and drawing faces lately. All the faces Rich and I draw for him have to wear glasses and have shoes. I blame his shoe fetish on daddy. As for glasses, I think he just likes the way they look on people.

On a side note, I got talked into performing "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus for YW in Excellence with a few other leaders. It is pretty comical, I have to admit. If you want to watch it click on the link below.
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/28fe7acca7639d35e05da23862a78b94/video/5946612

Fatter Now or Then?

2009-07-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

The other day I had Rich take a picture of me to see how I measure up when I was pregnant with Robbie at about 8 months. It just so happened that I am wearing the same black shirt that I did back then although, you can tell it has definitely faded over the past few years. I am convinced that I am fatter now, but judging by the pictures I am not sure. I guess it goes to show you that you carry boys differently then girls.

Pregnant with Ali or Lexie at about 8 mo. Most of my weight has gone to my sides, butt & thighs unfortunately which, I think is harder to loose.

Pregnant with Robbie at 8 months. I think I was mostly belly weight with Robbie which, is easier to loose by the way. Oh well, I guess will just have to submit my body to the extra weight gain for now. Men are lucky that they don't have to sacrifice their bodies to get a baby.

Independence Day

2009-07-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

This year we had an eventful 4th of July weekend. Rich was fortunate to get a 4 day weekend, so we spent Friday up in Heber with his brother Jacob and fam. We went up to Cascade Springs which was gorgeous, only I did not have my camera. I will have to post a few pictures later when I get some photo copies from my talented sister-in-law who takes amazing pictures. After running around all day with the cousins, Robbie fell asleep on the car ride home and after a quick meal went back to bed for the rest of the night.

When we woke up Friday morning we went up to Kaysville where we joined Rich's friends, Goar Family above, for the Kaysville 4th of July parade. Robbie has never been to a parade and really enjoyed collecting candy and seeing all the trucks and pretty floats.

More like he put every candy in his mouth to try it out. I was constantly having to hide the candy in my pockets or pull it out of his mouth just to get it unwraped in time. Some times he would just spit it out on the ground if he received another piece of candy that looked more appealing. I guess he got my sweet tooth. I wonder how he will do when Halloween comes around this year.
It seems like I am the only one that tries to smile when we get a family picture taken. I guess my boys don't care that much about photos.
Kara, Jacob and Robbie waiting on the blanket for the parade to start. After the parade was over we had lunch with them and then went to our friends house in Sandy for a group bbq and firework display. I am really grateful that we have this holiday to celebrate our freedom and the sacrifices our forefather went through to establish the country that we enjoy living in today.

Robbie turned two

2009-06-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

Robbie turned the big two on June 13th, but here are a few photos that we took before his birthday.

Every week we watch a little boy named Weston and Robbie has really become like a big protective brother to Weston. Before he turned two he really wanted to hold Weston so I told him he had to sit on the couch with him and this is the result. I had to laugh because, Weston weighs almost the same amount as Robbie.
Our Stake has a big family event at the pavilion every year where you can get breakfast, snowcones, cotton candy, face painting, pony rides, train rides, etc. The kids love it and this year they had these professional face painters come and they did an amazing job. Robbie wanted to be a tiger like his friend North.
Here are the 3 little tigers sitting on the grass together.

Madeline and Robbie went on the train ride together for the first time. Robbie loved the train so much and did not want to get off. I think he rode it 5 times before I had to drag him somewhere else. Needless to say he was not happy with me. I made two puppy dog cakes this year, but I wish I would of taken a picture of them before Robbie put his fingers in them. Not to mention transporting them to the park with plastic wrap didn't help the appearance of the cakes. Oh well, next year I will try to get a better shot of his cake.

Aunt Carly brought Robbie a bubble lawnmower from my mom that he was so excited to open. Whenever he pushes it around it almost sounds like a real lawnmower.

Robbie opening up a few of his other presents at home. It has been really rainy this whole month, so we decided it was better to take the presents home to open them instead of at the park. Especially because two year olds don't understand the concept of sharing or giving away toys.
Uncle Jacob and the kids running around at the park. I was so happy it didn't rain while we were at the park with the kids.
Robbie and I opening up some of his friend gifts when we got home from the party.
Robbie was shy and giddy at the same time when everyone started singing to him. I think he was really surprised. I wish we would have video taped this moment.Of course he had to clap when it was all over. He was just so excited to eat the frosting and the cake.

Caden and Robbie going down the double slide together. He loves playing at the park with his friends. Overall, I think he had a wonderful two year old birthday party. Thanks for coming everyone.

Summer Outings

2009-06-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Em invited Robbie and I to go with them to Discovery Gateway. We have never been before and it was really exciting. I was surprised at how many educational fun toys and play areas they had.
Robbie and Dylan pretending to drive the helicopter stationed outside. Mostly Robbie just wanted to push all of the buttons.
Robbie wanted to rock climb with the older kids, but he can't get past the first step thankfully. He was extremely frustrated at me for not lifting him to the top.
Robbie riding on the horse for like 2 seconds. Both him and Dylan were running the whole time from one item to the next. I think it was more of a work out for Em and I just taking the kids there.
For playgroup last week we went to the fire station to tour the fire trucks and talk to the local firemen.
The kids loved climbing in the ambulance and pretending to drive the fire truck. Of course you can never get all of them to look at the camera at this age.
Robbie and Caden getting into mischief when they think no one is looking.
We put all of the kids on the fire truck to watch the fireman get dressed in his gear.
Owen and Gavin came with us in the stroller that day and I thought the boys looked cute squeezing in our new double stroller.

Camping Trip

2009-06-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we decided to go camping with some of our friends up currant creek. Even though it was rainy we still had a lot of fun together.
We went on a little hike with the boys and towards the end Robbie wanted to ride on daddy's shoulders just like North was riding on his father Josh.
The guys at one of the overlook points.
Robbie and North would race each other to the different markers located on the trail.
Robbie going fishing with daddy for the first time.
We met up with the cousins in Midway on the way down. We were all stinky so we stayed outside and I gave the kids a wagon ride to the park to hang out for a bit.
Lately Robbie likes wearing Christmas hats and any glasses he can get his hands on. Kind of random I know, but I think it is cute when he dresses up. These star glasses are the best for him. He tries to wear my sunglasses and Rich's eyeglasses if Rich accidentally leaves them in his reach.

Barbie Joke

2009-05-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

A while back when Rich's parents were in town we were telling them about the stereotype barbie joke and they wanted to see it. So hear it is. I hope you all enjoy.

Mattel recently announced the release of limited-edition Barbie Dolls for the Utah market:

' Park City Barbie'
She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade Handbags, a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a million dollar home. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.
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' Sandy or Draper Barbie'
The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Wind star Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.
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' Ogden Barbie'
This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.
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' East Bench or St. George Barbie'
This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them...
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' Spanish Fork Barbie'
This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and tweedy bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.
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' Tooele Barbie'
This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Spanish Fork Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.
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' Avenues or Moab Barbie'
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow. She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Moab Barbie's and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.
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' West Valley Barbie'
This Barbie now comes with a stroller and 2 infant dolls. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. White boy Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

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' Provo / BYU Barbie'
She's perfect in every way, mainly due to the high levels of antidepressants in her system. We don't know where Ken is because he's always at church meetings.

Travels back East

2009-05-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

I have not posted anything for a while so I feel like I am so behind on blogging. I thought I would post some pictures from our trip back in WVA. We were able to visit my family and Rich was able to have a little break in between semesters for about 10 days in April.A veteran in Petersburg, WVA has collected war items, cars and artifacts over the last few decades and decided to display his items into a museum located outside of his house. I thought this was a cool way to retire, he was a nice old man.

I was amazed at how many army jeeps, tanks and war vehicles this man had. How he was able to get them to his house in small town Petersburg is amazing.
Robbie and Rich are standing in front of Robert E. Lee wooden table. We thought it was appropriate since Robert E. Lee is one of Rich's favorite generals and Robbie is somewhat named after him. He came across this table on accident through a garage sale and it happened to be the exact table from a museum that shut down with old civil war artifacts.
Rich and I did a little hiking up in the Dolly Sods which is a vast National Forest discovered by a German family way back when. We were hoping to see some of the wild flowers, but spring hasn't quite blossomed yet.
Rich leading the way through the muddy trail. Dolly Sods is known to have a lot of black bears so I am glad that we didn't run into any.

Robbie became obsessed with the old swing set outside of my grandma's home. He always wanted to swing a few times before going in to visit.
Rich and Robbie hanging out in the creek that runs through part of my grandparents land.
The creek is the first thing you see when you cross the wood bridge to get to my mom's house. Robbie had fun splashing around in it. One of his shoes fell off and we couldn't catch it in time. I didn't want to dive after it with the camera in my hand. Oh well, it least they were cheap used shoes.
Rich and I at Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is located between Maryland and Virginia. It was a great connecting point for trading merchandise back in the day. Boats and trains were constantly bringing in goods before and after the civil war. Lewis and Clark even stopped in Harpers Ferry to load up on supplies before heading out West to explore.
One view of Harpers Ferry over the bridge. I wish we could have spent more time here. It was one of the coolest colonial towns I have ever been too. If you want some more fabulous views of Harpers Ferry check out this website. http://www.jimkirbyphoto.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=3
Rich standing in front of the mason monument recognizing George Washington and the soldiers effort during the revolutionary war. Valley Forge is a very big park. Rich and I walked appx. 8 miles around the park just looking at all of the different historical sites. Lots of runners and bikers go there to exercise.
Here are some of the first log cabins built by the soldiers to keep them warm during the dreary winter months.
My sister Hylee and I standing over Queen's point where you can see the valley of which the town of Keyser is nestled in. My sister has a phobia of heights so I was really proud of her for standing by me this close to the edge. Although she was freaking out the whole time.
My friend Stephanie and I have been friends since we were beehives. She has a twin Jenny whom we met up with later that night for pizza and wings.
Rich really wanted to stop by this car to take a picture. He thought is was so funny that this rusty old car was growing plants out of the engine just sitting in the middle of nowhere.
This was one of the first iron stoves built in the 1800s to burn coal to use for heating and what not. It is located at one of the parks outside of Keyser, Rich and I thought it was a cool invention back in the day.
My sister Hylee won employee of the quarter at Maron Manor as a CNA. She was really surprised to see all of us at her work when they had a little party celebration for her.
Robbie loved one of this pug puppy that belonged to one of the Senior resident at Maran Manor. Unfortunately the dog was a little to old to keep up with Robbie, but he loved petting it anyway.

One morning Rich woke up early and took some photo shots of part on my grandparents farmland. Every morning when we walked outside we would see the sheep grazing and the hills were overcast for the first part of the week. I am glad that we got to go back one more time before Robbie turns two. Hopefully, we will still be able to afford to fly back East as our family grows.

Latest Obsession

2009-04-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

I admit that I have dreamed about having a little girl to dress up for a long time. Now that I am having a girl I am obsessed at looking at all the cutsie little girl clothes and accessories every place I go. The day after I found out that Rich and I were having a little girl I went to a clothing sale at the Methodist church and bought some little girl outfits with Nikki and Lindsey. I did buy a few t-shirts for Robbie, but girls are so much more fun to shop for. Now I just have to limit myself so I don't break our budget.
On a side note here is the latest book I am re-reading. It makes me laugh, I recommend it to anyone who is pregnant or going to become pregnant in the future. It isn't a medical book or anything just the 411 on how women really feel during pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Robbie, I think I read all of the pregnancy related books out there and this is my favorite so far. I find that a lot of pregnancy books out there can be draining to read with all the medical terminology and conditions that doctors write about. That is why I love that Vicki ( the author) is a mother of four and understands where we (mothers) are truly coming from and therefore tells you like it is. Let me know if any of you want to borrow it. Have a great day!

Easter in a Nutshell

2009-04-15T21:11:00.001-07:00

I have been looking forward to the holidays this year now that Robbie has a better idea of what is going on. We started celebrating Easter during Conference Weekend when Grammy Theresa was in town. First we saw the Easter Bunny at South Towne then we colored eggs with Uncle Matt and Aunt Lindsay. The next weekend I took him to a few Easter Egg hunts with a few of his friends. If that wasn't enough sugar for the kid he got a little basket of goodies in his Easter basket on Sunday morning. We have had to hide his basket because, he gets too excited about the candy and tries to shove it all in his mouth even with the wrapper on. It was fun to see his reaction to the bunny rabbit and collecting eggs. Now his new obsession is cracking open all the eggs. I just have to figure out a way to tell him that not all eggs are boiled. Happy Easter Everyone!

Spread The Sunshine!

2009-03-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

I just learned of this great idea from a friend's blog and wanted to continue it...The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! It might be a fun project, a sweet letter to you from me, or some yummy goodies, you might be surprised what you get! Give it a try!

Limitations/Stipulations/Regulations, etc.

1-I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.

2-What I create will be just for you.

3-It'll be done this year.

4-You have no clue what it's going to be.

5-I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? You must re -post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to leave a comment, win a lovely little treat for themselves! Have fun! If you're far away, just send me your mailing address (christina.muse@yahoo.com).

Ready........Set............Go!

Little Tool Men

2009-03-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Every first Saturday of the month Home Depot hosts a kids workshop in the morning for a few hours. This month a few of us moms decided to go together and try it out.

It was a big hit. All of the kids receive a cute orange work apron and a craft project to put together. They give out different projects each month and when you finish it, you get a certificate and pin of completion.

The boys found a fork lift and of course had to climb up on it and pretend to drive it.

When the boys finished making their race car tracks we tested it out with the new little cars that came with the package. It was a lot of fun.

On a side note Robbie seems to have twisted his ankle jumping off the bed this past Monday. He has been limping around for the past few days so we bandaged him up. We could not tell which foot it was for sure so we ended up bandaging both feet the first night. We are hoping it will get better soon because, Robbie hates not being able to run around everywhere.

He went from Robinator to Poor Little Sick boy

2009-03-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

Last week when I was cleaning up the kitchen and when I went to check on Robbie and this is what I found...
Apparently he found a spare deodorant under the sink and decided to smear it all over the vanity and then figured out how to open up my lotion and squeezed it on the shower curtain and floor. As I cleaned up his bathroom mess, I remember chuckling to myself thinking oh it least it isn't permanent. Boy I should of bit my tongue because, the next day I got a even bigger surprise.

While I was in the shower Robbie managed to pull a chair up to the kitchen countertop where he reached into the utensil drawer and pulled out a permanent sharpie. Apparently my secret hiding place is no longer a secret. I guess the pens in the drawer were not good enough for him since he has already used them on the walls before. Then he began coloring away all over his crib, walls, crib bumper, toys, you name it. Well as you can imagine I started scrubbing as fast as I could trying to save as many things before it was really permanent. I had to take a picture of him smirking at me looking like he was so proud of what he did. I just cannot believe what he is capable of at only 20 months. I hate to see what he will do when he turns two.
Well after Robbie went on his destroying frenzie last week he seems to have caught a nasty cold that has been going around the neighborhood. Now my poor little boy just mopes around coughing his head off and wants to watch cartoons all day. I just hope that he will feel better soon so that we can have a happy medium again.

Snowy Valentines

2009-02-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

This year for Valentines we decided not to do much so we all shared a box of chocolates that I bought in January for 80% off after Christmas for like 2 dollars. I hate paying full price for anything if I can help it. Sometimes I will even negotiate certain items to the price I think they should be even if I am in another country. I remember one time in England I felt like our train fares were over priced. So I talked it over with the Brit to lower our fares in addition to the student discount we were already getting. I guess that is why my roommate in college use to call me Miss Savvy.

Back to Valentines. Robbie loved making little hearts for daddy and loved getting cute valentines from sweet Owen, Jill & Jaclyn. My lovely husband surprised me with a love letter which is really all I ever want anyway. All in all it was a good day for us.

I don't know what it is about the new snow that comes, but Robbie insists on trying it every time we step outside. Even if I carry him out to the garage to get in the car he sneaks off behind my back and I find him huddled over the snow picking up a new piece. I guess I can't blame him considering I use to always eat the snow when I was kid. Who am I kidding I still like to eat snow if it is clean that is.

Exciting News

2009-01-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't heard yet, I'm pregnant. We are way excited to have another baby come into our home. We are hoping that this baby is more calm than Robbie or we might have to stop after this one. Seriously though we just hope that the baby is as healthy and happy as Robbie is. Perhaps will get a little girl this time, you never know. Keep your fingers crossed for us. The baby will be due the beginning of September.

Christmas

2008-12-30T20:26:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas we did absolutely nothing. Well on Christmas day to be exact. We watched Robbie open a few presents and then stayed home all day and relaxed. It was nice to not feel pressured to go anywhere. I guess that can be an advantage to having most of your relatives live out of state. Not to mention all of the snow outside made a perfect excuse to stay inside. Here are a few pictures of the Robinator enjoying his gifts this year.

Love Story - Official Music Video

2008-12-28T14:36:00.001-08:00

I think Taylor Swift is a cute girl. Let's hope she stays that way if you know what I mean. Anyway, check out her new catchy song. I love it, I can't seem to get it out of my head.

Remodeling

2008-12-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas instead of buying gifts for one another we took on the huge project of remodeling our kitchen and two bathrooms. We started this project Thanksgiving week and a I am proud to say that it is finally finished. A few of you have asked me what it looks like, so I thought I would post a few pictures if you haven't been over to my house yet.

Upstairs kitchen

Downstairs bathroom with tile tub

Upstairs bathroom vanity

I thought this was a cute picture of Robbie falling asleep in his jumper. This is how I felt after the remodeling project was all over.

Snow and Santa

2008-12-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

Robbie isn't a big fan of snow. He likes to look at it and see all the snowflakes falling, but if he gets any snow on his hands or legs it's over for him. Perhaps next year he will be more brave to go out and play in it. As far as Santa goes he doesn't mind him at all. It seems like a lot of kids scream or cry when they sit on Santa's lap. Robbie on the other hand has no problem with strangers which could be a problem in the future. For now it is fun to watch him eat candy canes and enjoy the Christmas season.

Cancun

2008-12-16T19:57:00.001-08:00

Rich and I decided earlier this year that we wanted to have a relaxing vacation this year at the beach. We arranged our layover to be in Dallas so we could to drop Robbie off with Grandma and Grandpa Muse for a week so the two of us could escape to Cancun. Even though we both missed Robbie terribly it was great to get away and spend some quality time together. Plus Robbie had a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa while we were gone. I though I would post a few pictures of our trip for those of you who have never seen Mexico. Rich is standing on the balcony outside connecting to our hotel room, the view was incredible from our room. Every morning I would get up and enjoy eating breakfast outside on the balcony listening to the waves.

The beach is so beautiful down there. It really looks just like the way it does in the magazine pictures. You know how sometimes you see advertisements and they look too good to be true. This is not the case with Cancun, the ocean really is two shades of crystal clear blue.

One night Rich and ate out at a Mexican restaurant that bordered the Lagoon. You can't see the Lagoon because, it was dark when we took the picture but it was sure fun drinking virgin Margaritas and being outside by all of the different boats.

One day Rich and I went snorkeling and while you are riding out to the coral reef you can have as many drinks as you want as part of the package deal. Anyway on the way back our Server guy had a little too much beer and started acting really goofy. He had everyone try on the Mexican hats while he took pictures. We were laughing so hard that he caught us with our cheezy grin. I really like the picture because it is one of the few pictures I have of Rich actually smiling.
I am preparing to jump in the freezing cold ocean to go on a snorkel run through the reef. I never knew that snorkeling could be so fun yet dangerous. Sometimes depending on how strong the under current is, it can be tough to keep up your stride and still see all the colorful fish.
The only bad thing about taking pictures at the beach is you never know what kind of wave might get you while you are not looking. Needless to say we got half drenched after this shot.
Along the beach you saw wooden lifeguard posts which I thought were kind of cool looking so I climbed up one.
We spent a day traveling on the local bus 4.5 hours one way to get to Chichen Itza. Once we got to the Mayan Ruins it was incredible to learn more about the Mayan civilization and how they developed astronomy and the calendars that we use today.

They also played this sport where 7 warriors on a team had to throw balls of their hips through these tiny hoop on the side of the building and whoever the judges selected as the champion was sacrificed to the gods. I won't go into all of the gory details but, that is one sport I definitely would want to loose at. I guess it was a honorable for the champion and his family, but that sounds morbid to me.
The Mayan Ruins were incredible. I can't believe how much of it is still standing after all of these years. I guess that is why it is considered one of the 7 wonders. I was glad that we went on this trip we had a blast together.

Halloween fun

2008-11-02T11:04:00.001-08:00

Monday, Oct. 27th Draper Library had a party for all the kids at the park. Robbie and Caden got balloons and they had a lot of little activity booths for the kids to participate in. We met up with the Rust family at the park and it was fun to watch the kids look around. On the way out they were able to take home a pumpkin of their choice.
Tuesday, Oct. 28th Special Intervention ( a speech therapy program) had a Halloween party for all the kids at Jordan Valley School. It was so funny trying to watch Robbie bounce on the pumpkin balls. He just couldn't quite get it, but that didn't stop the Robinator from trying.

Thur. Oct. 30th Cornbellys at Thanksgiving Point. Lisa, Kimber, Matt and I went to cornbellys on Thursday night while our hubbys were at school. We decided to do the kiddy corn maze while Matt and Kimber tried the adult corn maze. Lisa and I had a little trouble navigating the stroller threw here, but all and all it wasn't bad.

Robbie and Caden jumping on a bouncy thing. Trying to get a picture of both of them is a challenge. I will be lucky if I can ever get a picture of Robbie's face in the next few years. He is my little busy body.Robbie and I going on the cow train ride. I don't dare let him go on the train by himself. He would probably get bored and jump out half way through the ride. Luckily I could squeeze in behind him.

Lisa, Caden, Robbie and I on the big Cornbellys rocking chair when you first enter the park. You never think about jump up on things being hard until you have a wild boy in your hands.
After carving his pumpkin and getting all messy, Robbie decided the pumpkin juice wasn't enough. He wanted to put his face paint on. Surprisingly he didn't mind that I painted his Tiger face on him almost every day this week. I guess he got pretty used to it after the first few times.
Robbie all geared up on Halloween and ready to go trick or treating.
I can't ever get him to smile on Halloween. Maybe, he likes Christmas better.

Video of Robbie in a hay maze with Caden.

Jesse's Wedding

2008-11-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Oct. 11th Rich and I rented a car and drove up to Boise for the weekend to attend his brother's wedding. It was really windy and cold, so we took most of the pictures at the reception.
Lori my sister-in-law in Heber took a lot of pictures of everyone with her awesome camera. It was really fun to hang out with all of Rich's family again. Matt and Lindsay were troopers to put us up in their home for the weekend.
The great thing about Idaho is the people that live their. Everyone is so nice and down to earth. I don't think I would mind moving up there one day. I just need to get over the cold wind first.

Jesse was the last of the Muse boys to get married. We thought it would be fun to do a sister-in-law picture. The funny thing is we ended up taking the picture from tallest to shortest and the order of the brothers. I mean starting on the left: Lori is married to Jacob who is the oldest brother, I'm married to Richard the 2nd eldest, Kim to Jesse the 3rd eldest, and Lindsay married Matt the youngest brother. We didn't even plan to do the photo that way, it just happened. Well it was a terrific wedding weekend!

Last hikes

2008-10-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Provo Canyon-Bridal Veil FallsRobbie loves sitting on top of our shoulders. I just love their expressions in this photo as Robbie rubs Rich's face.
Robbie giving daddy a head massage. Probably the only person that can get away with touching Rich's hair.
I miss the days when Robbie use to snuggle with me. Now he just wants to run away.
It was so green and fresh up the canyon. I love the smell of nature right after it rains.
Big Cottonwood-Silver Lake (Brhhh!)
Every other Monday Rich has the day off from working 9 hour shifts. The last couple of Monday's that he has had off we went up to the mountains. Today we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and took Robbie around Silver Lake. We didn't stay long because, there was tons of snow and Robbie being the curious boy that he is fell into a pile of snow and got all wet.

Robbie was having a blast just crunching his feet in the snow.

Robbie ended up wearing daddy's hat because, his got all wet. All the pine trees were glistening with snow. It reminded me of Christmas and how it is almost here. It least we got a few last hikes in before the dreadful winter arrives.

West Virginia

2008-09-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

After hitting the beach we drove back up to West Virginia to visit the rest of my extended family.
Hay bells were everywhere when we got to the farm. I put Robbie on top of one to see if he would like being that tall.
Instead I think he was confused by the scratchy straw stuff under his legs.
This is Robbie by the entrance to the barn. I like this picture because, you can see the rolling hills behind the barn. Plus Robbie always gets distracted by the little things no matter where I try to take him.

This is one of my grandpa's newest tractors on the farm. I left Robbie in the stroller cause that was the only way I could take a picture without him running under the wheels.

Myrtle Beach

2008-09-14T20:31:00.001-07:00

Myrtle Beach is one of my most favorite beaches and is located in South Carolina in case you didn't know. The Atlantic Ocean is much warmer then the Pacific. Some girls prefer to layout all day on the sand, I actually like to swim and get wet. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed my nice little tan and the beach is definitely therapeutic when relaxing on the soft sand and listening to the waves. The rest of my family however; didn't seem to love the beach as much as my mom and I did. They preferred to hang out at the condo's pool where they didn't get dirty. So we did a little bit of both every day.
Robbie on the other hand loved the beach just like mommy. He even took a few naps while hanging out at the beach. I don't think I have ever seen the kid happier. His two favorite things playing in the dirt without being controlled and splashing in the water. It's too bad Rich had to start school he would have loved to come with us and experience Robbie's first time at the beach.
I swear he has no fear. He would run directly into the waves and they would knock him down and he would still try to get past me to go out further into the Ocean. If you didn't know better you would think he lost his mind. I think he loved the beach so much because, he could actually stand up and run around whereas the pool he was constantly stuck in floaties and had to be held.
I admit I love to boogie board. I think it is so fun to catch a big wave in. Unfortunately the waves weren't superb until the tropical storms hit and then they were just to dangerous to be going out in. I really want to learn how to surf. Loreena and I talked about taking a class during college break, but we never got around to it. Oh well, perhaps one day I will learn.
Cody and I dug a hole to see how far down we have to go to get to the water and then we thought we would put Robbie in it to see what he would do. The problem with being wet is the sand sticks every where and though he was trying to clean his mouth he kept making it worst by putting his hand all over his face. It was pretty funny to watch him eat it though. I am told that I ate a lot of sand when I was little too so I guess it was bound to happen.

2008-07-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here is part of the firework show from the Stadium of Fire. I swear it went on for it least 15 minutes, I've never seen so many fireworks at one time or any shows that lasted that long. Not to mention I have never been that close to fireworks, they were literally above our head. I am surprised that nobody or anything got burned with the fireworks being so close. It was the best fireworks show I have ever seen in my entire life. Man...Utah County knows how to put on a spectacular show.

Independence Day

2008-07-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

Rich doing his famous blue steel look from Zoolander.

Robbie's first sparkler

Stadium of FireDancers performing summer olympics in their routine.

Skydivers that landed on the field to celebrate 4th of July.

Giant flag coming over us to be held on the field by all the Utah soldiers.

Miley Cyrus concert

Can I just say that Independence Day is my most favorite holiday. I know most people love Christmas and all, but I can't stand the cold and their is so much hype months before Christmas that it starts to get on my nerves and in a sense ruins the whole meaning of it. Anyway the reason I love the 4th of July is because we get to celebrate our freedom and the wonderful things that our country stands for. I get all choked up when I think about all the Americans, our founding fathers and the soldiers that sacrificed their lives so that we could live in this great nation. Not only is the holiday celebrated in the summer with great bbq food and lots of fun outdoor activities, but it just so happens to be close to my birthday. Come on who doesn't love to gawk at all the awesome firework shows at the end of the night. Anyway, this year I lucked out and bought cheap tickets on craigslist to the stadium of fire show down in Provo. Just in case you are wondering; Rich and I are not Hannah Montana fans. I do think she has some great songs and I do admire her accomplishments for being so talented at such a young age. Anyway the main reason we went was to hear Glen Beck who was freakin awesome and inspiring by the way. I also, was interested in checking out the blue man group from Vegas. Considering this was our first time going to Stadium of Fire, we hired a cute girl from our ward to watch Robbie because we didn't know what to expect and we didn't think he would be able to stay up that late. It was a good thing we did because I don't think he would of liked all the noise. Overall the show was very exciting and they had a lot of great performers.

Gardening

2008-07-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

Robbie played in the dirt while I planted all of the vegetables, then I laid out a blanket so he could drink his milk while I mowed the backyard. Before I know it he fell asleep under the tree.
I swear he can sleep through anything. I wish I could be a deep sleeper again. I guess all Mother's become light sleepers after having a kid.
Daddy and Robbie going down the slide at the Sandy Park.
All the neighbor kids love to come pick up Robbie whenever we bring him out to the front yard to play. What a busy day.

Stake Fair

2008-07-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

Face painting by the cute young women who baby-sit Robbie once in a while.

Pony ride. I thought Robbie would be scared of the horses since they are so much bigger than him, but he didn't seem to mind going for a ride.
The saddle even had a little handle for him to grab onto.
Robbie and Dylan laughing on the train ride.
The annual stake fair is a fun event held in June, where you can run in the morning eat breakfast and get all sugared up with cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones and all of the fun fair foods. Then they have a bunch of activities for the little ones. It was a blast, too bad that Rich had to work that day. Em and I sure had fun taking the kids their.

Birthday Boy

2008-06-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

All grown up

Yeah! My real birthday, Friday June 13th.

Messy Boy!

Yummy cupcake!

Saturday Birthday Party

Skylee & Tajer (cousins) came to swim
with me in my new kiddie pool!

Splish Splash I was taking a bath!

Ooh, I'm tired. Nap time.

Look mom, I can grab the water.

Ready Set Blow...

Delicious frosting...

Messy face...

Dig in...

Presents, what is that?

New toys! Yeah! Happy Birthday Robbie!

One Year

2008-06-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that Robbie turned one on Friday, June 13th. It seems like yesterday when I brought him home from the hospital in his tiny little blanket. It is hard to believe that my 20 pounder use to be 7.4 pounds a year ago. Time goes by fast when you are having fun. I have to admit that I like the stage he is at better than the newborn stage. He is much more fun to play with and his facial expressions always crack me up Even though he is mobile and gets into a lot more stuff, he is so fun to watch. Rich & I love making him laugh and listening to his cute giggles. Here is Robbie chasing baloons right before his birthday party started.

Random photos

2008-06-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Robbie getting ready for bed

Bedtime story

What is that bright flashy thing?

Caden & Robbie playing together

Robbie learning to walk like Caden

Robbie & I going for a walk

Sleepy sleepy baby

Robster

2008-06-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

Robbie is such a wiggler. I swear it takes it least 10 min. to get him dressed and changed. Luckily I have a strap on the changing table so I can strap him down sometimes. On occasion though he will find a way to slide out of the strap that bears him down. I've started calling him "Robster the terminator" lately because, he reminds me of a man who is so determined to get what he wants that nothing will stop him until he gets it. I have never seen a baby move so fast just to reach the dishwasher or fridge in time before it closes.

This is what happens when you don't have a child that will hold still. He ends up with 2 legs in one pant leg making it a nice blue cotton skirt. I am surprised that I even was able to snap a quick photo shot of my little Robster.

Yucky Mess

2008-05-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

The other day I went in to check on Robbie during his nap and too my surprise he was wide awake stomping around in his crib. When I walked over to pick him up, I realized that he was butt naked and stomping his poop into his mattress. Luckily I happen to have a plastic lining and a pad that covers his mattress. However; it didn't make the cleaning any easier. Somehow he managed to rip his wet diaper off and chuck it across the crib and then decided to smear his poop all over his crib, bumpers, blankets and even his nice crib quilt that was hanging over the rails. I immediately put him in the tub and then to my horror noticed that he had some on his lips. Yuck, to think that he was possibly eating it makes me want to vomit. It least he tried to help me clean his crib cover in the toilet. Every day this week seems like we have had some kind of poopie encounter, but nothing like this.

Burn baby burn

2008-05-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

Ernst & Young participates in several community events through-out the year. To keep us motivated through busy season and to motivate us to stay in shape, the company paid for us to run the 5K SLC marathon. This year I decided to run it since last year I was almost 8 months pregnant and didn't feel like running that much during my pregnancy. However, I did bike ride a few times during the end of my pregnancy. Looking back that probably wasn't the best idea nor did I look very pleasant on a bike. Anyway, I decided to run the 5K which is 3.1 miles in case you didn't know. I did pretty well considering I only trained for the race a week before.

Friends at work that I ran with.

Yikes, I made it in 32.26, not bad for only running a few times beforehand.

Group photo in front of our new office at the Gateway.

Red Heels

2008-05-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I watched Addie and Ethan and boy did we have a lot of fun. We went down town to meet Uncle Rich for lunch at the Park while I attended a quick work meeting. Then I decided to be brave and take all of them with me to pick up my race materials for SLC 5k. Addie could not get enough of the huge Chocolate Milk display. It turned out okay and we all ended up with some free samples to take home. When we got home Addie discovered my shoes and decided to try them on. I thought it was particularly cute that she tried on my hot red heels.

At that point I couldn't resist taking a few photos. Check out my cute diva niece!

Heber/ Midway photo shoot

2008-04-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

The other day when Theresa was in town we went up to Heber to visit so she could say goodbye to all of the kids before flying back down to Texas. While we were up there I asked my talented sister-in-law, Lori, if she could take some cute photos of our family. Well they turned out great, here are a few of them.

Robbie was so tired that he didn't make it to the bridge. Lori ended up taking some photos of Rich and I. I felt like we were doing our engagement photos all over again. Except they turned out a lot better. I think we look better with age.

Green Grass

2008-04-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Finally, the moment I have been waiting for forever is finally here. Warm weather need I say anything more. So the other day I realized that Robbie hasn't been out on the lawn yet, last summer he was too young and then it became too cold outside. I decided to let him try crawling on the grass and I think he was a little stunned at first.

Babies have the cutest feet don't you think?

Of course he had to pick at it....

Okay, mom I'm done. What next?

Pickle Me

2008-03-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

Rich and I have been experimenting with different foods to give Robbie. His doctor says we can give him pretty much anything to eat other than (peanut butter, eggs, honey and cow's milk) or items that will make him choke. So the other day we gave him a pickle. To our surprise he didn't make any of his sour faces and he really seemed to like it. In fact he got mad and growled at us when we tried to take it away. Lately he has been making growling noises at us and his toys. Maybe it is his way of showing his masculinity. I must say that I miss his "goo goo" and "gaga" noises compared to being greeted by my new little grizzly bear.

First Easter (Slide Show)

2008-03-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

Little crawler

2008-02-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

Robbie is on the move and you can't stop him. He has finally figured out how to get where he wants and he moves quickly. I know it won't be long before he is walking. He can already push himself to stand up in his crib, by the changing table, and anything he can hold on too. I can't believe my little baby boy is starting to become my little man. They say you grow the most in your first year of life. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by, it seems like yesterday when Robbie was born.

More pictures

2008-02-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

Robbie got to play with Owen and Gavin one night while we were babysitting. They are good friends in our ward. Owen wanted to sit in Robbie's swing so we let him try it out, even though he has outgrown it.

Robbie styling in his new Valentines jacket from Grandma Williams. Rich and I took him to IHOP last night to celebrate Valentines early. The waitress was so nice and brought Robbie a special pancake with a smiley face made out of whip cream and cherries. He quickly reached for it before we could move it and got whip cream all over his hands. He loved eating the pancake. Yummies for his tummy!

Ernst & Young Family Day

2008-02-14T20:08:00.001-08:00

My work hosted a family day at our new office located at the South end of the Gateway. I love our new location because, I get to go to a bunch of lunch meetings across the street at the Gateway restaurants. Not to mention I love having a work perk card which gives me discounts to most of the Gateway stores. I dressed Robbie up in the EY onesie that my work gave me when he was born and we met up with daddy for a fun night at the Gateway. He love watching the water fountains and was fascinated with all the people out shopping.

I love you

2008-02-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

When I was young my mom use to always give us a valentines treat or a little gift each year when we woke up to eat breakfast. This was something I really looked forward to every year. It was great to feel that love from my family. Now that I have a son, I would like to start that tradition with my family. Today I gave Robbie a little dinosaur. Carly and I were in cooking and cleaning mode all afternoon. We made stuffed peppers, angel food cake and frog-eye salad for dinner. After Rich got home from work we had a candlelight dinner and then we just hung out around the house. Carly won a toy rose at her Singles Ward last night so we had Robbie pose with it today. One of Carly's friends came over to celebrate "Single Awareness Day" while Rich and I watched "Just Friends" after Robbie went to bed.

walker

2008-02-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

Robbie just loves walking in his walker. He just loves walking period... I think it makes him feel like such a big boy. Sometimes he will ram into your ankles when he gets going fast. The funniest thing is to watch him try to follow you into a room. Then he realizes he is stuck because, his walker won't go on the carpet. I think if he could he would skip the crawling all together and go straight to walking. He always squeals with delight when anyone will hold his hands and walk him around the house. Whatever makes him happy! We love to hear him laugh.

Grandpa & Grandma Muse

2008-02-01T10:35:00.000-08:00

Grandpa and Grandma Muse came out to Utah to visit all of us in January. Robbie had so much fun spending time with them. He just loved getting extra attention and love from everyone. It didn't take him long to get used to having Grandma and Grandpa Muse around. It was sure nice to have the extra help in feeding, playing and rocking Robbie to sleep. One night we went to eat at sweet tomatoes and Robbie devoured the mac and cheese. These days he will shove just about anything in his mouth that he can get a hold of. I guess I won't ever have to worry about him not being a good eater. Now, if we could just get him to sleep through the nights life would be great. I wish that we lived close by Lee and Theresa, so that we could see them more often. It least now Lee and Theresa will get free flight benefits and they can come out to visit whenever they have days off.

Family Pictures

2007-12-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share some photos that we got taken at JC Penny for Robbie's 6 month pictures. We didn't buy all of them, but I paid to view them online from their smiles website. Enjoy.

Christmas

2007-12-26T18:33:00.001-08:00

Christmas is finally here. Rich and I were really excited to celebrate Robbie's first Christmas. Too bad he doesn't know what is going on yet. In a few more years, I think he will get the concept of opening gifts. He really liked the wrapping paper and all the lights on the Christmas tree. He even tried to eat one of his presents. Susan gave him Snowflake jammies for Christmas Eve and my mom found him a "Berry First Christmas" outfit back East. Hopefully, this year we will be able to take him on his first plane ride to Texas or West Virginia to visit. After we opened a few gifts with Robbie at home Christmas morning, we went up to visit Jacob and Lori and the kids. They were all at the Hansen house and it was fun to listen to Katie sing her songs on her new karaoke machine. Ethan got a cool muscle man shirt and was playing ninja. Addison was dancing around in her cute pink jammies. Katie is such a big helper now, she wanted to feed Robbie so I let her. It was fun to see all of them since we don't get to see them too often. Overall it was a pretty relaxing Christmas. We look forward to the new year.

High Pitches Video

2007-12-20T21:49:00.000-08:00

Robbie is at the age where they vocalize different sounds and pitches. I thought I would try to get some of them on video. He ended up doing most of his high "girl" pitches which, I thought was funny.

Dressed in Plaid

2007-12-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I keep taking all of my pictures on Sunday. I guess after the crazy week is over, it ends up being the best time to take pictures. I need to be better about breaking it up better. One week left to Christmas. I thought I would take a few pictures by the tree. It is really hard to get him to hold still long enough to get a good picture. I think we are in for it, once he can really move. Did I mention he loves to grab his feet. I have caught him nibbling on his toes on a few occassions. I just wish they didn't grow up so fast. Just enjoy every moment you can.

BYU game

2007-12-20T20:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend we decided to take Robbie out to his first BYU game. At first he cried everytime BYU made a basket because, all of the cheering and the noise scared him. Then he started to get use to it. He was really fascinated with all the people and the movement going around him. Cosmo the Cougar came up to see the kids, so we lucked out and happened to get Robbie's picture with him. I must say that I am impressed at how well Robbie deals with Strangers and how he doesn't seem to mind being passed off to funny looking ones. We ended up meeting Luke, Brit and Noah at the game. Rich and Luke work together downtown. It was a fun night out.

Penguin Suit

2007-12-09T21:33:00.001-08:00

Our neighbors down the street gave us a few of her boy's clothes and one of the outfits happened to be a little tux. Today for church, I dressed Robbie up in it to see what he would look like. Boy was he little prince charming. He is starting to look like a little man now. I made daddy take a picture with him, while he was still dressed up. It is very rare that you will find daddy dressed up for very long, so I had to be quick. You can tell how happy they were. Like Father like son I guess. Don't you just love his facial expressions. Sometimes Rich and I joke around about Robbie being our bipolar baby. One minute he is laughing and happy as can be and then all of a sudden he is crying for no reason. You never know what you are going to get with babies. I just hope these mood swings only last through the baby stages. If they don't, oh well I still love him.

Santa Claus

2007-12-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday we had our ward Christmas dinner and they had a special visitor for all of the kids. I am surprised that Robbie stayed up that late to see Santa, but he made it and he didn't even cry when he sat on his lap. Either he was too tired or he shed all of his tears earlier from his rotten tooth that is growing in. Of course he had to tug at his beard and feel all of his hair. Then when I went to grab him to give the other kids in line a turn, he made sure to grab Santa's glasses off his face too. I think he enjoyed Santa considering he had never seen the guy before. Well see how he does next year, when he gets a little older.
Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas for now!

Eating time

2007-12-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Robbie makes the funnies faces when we introduce new foods to him. He hasn't rejected any of the foods I've given him, but you have to give him a few spoonfuls to adjust to the taste.

His favorites seem to be sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, green beans and peas. Okay now that I think about it, he just loves to eat any kind of solid food. In fact he always prefers eating solids over drinking milk.

He's my good little eater!

sunday

2007-12-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

Today, I dressed Robbie up in his Christmas vest for Church. Everyone in primary commented about his cute little bow tie and outfit. Normally, Rich and I like to dress Robbie up in blue because, it bring out his pretty blue eyes. His eyes seem to stand out no matter what he wears. The question is how long can we keep the outfit nice, before he slobbers all over it? Right now in primary they are practicing all of the Christmas songs. I think Robbie really likes it because, he gets excited and makes a lot of noises. The kids in my class are always fighting over who gets to hold Robbie next, so needless to say he gets passed around a lot. Good thing no one is sick right now or he would have to go with Daddy to his class. I had Aunt Carly pose with him since, she was the only one ready for church and she was wearing her hot new red shirt.

winter time

2007-11-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Robbie has been trying on all of his new beanies and winter clothes to gear up for the cold season. Rich thinks he looks like a pansy boy, but I say this is the only time in his life when I get the chance to dress him up cute. Babies are supposed to be adorable and full of surprises. Those are the ones that we let daddy take care of. Robbie can be such a joy and full of giggles.

This paticular outfit was given to him by Grandma Muse. I think it brings out his beautiful blue eyes. Robbie loves to stand up so much and stretch out his arms. I was trying to see how long he could stand up on his own before falling over. He lasted about 5 seconds, now if we could just get him to sit up he will be on the move.

Robbie loves to chew on his fingers. It is his new fetish. He doesn't seem to like the binki anymore. Now we have a new bad habit to break him of. For now we just let him eat at it, whatever get him through the horrible teething stage. I say go for it. Chow down son!

Halloween

2007-11-23T20:12:00.001-08:00

Robbie had to get shots on halloween, so he was having a rough day. He was a good sport and he still let me dress him up in his little skunk costume. We dressed him up like a little skunk, because he is a stinky boy or so we call him that. After I got him all dressed up we went to daddy's office to visit people at his work and then went over to my work where Robbie got to do a little trick or treating. I forgot to buy him a Halloween bag, so I ended up using my purse until Chalyce gave us a cute little black kettle. Later that night we took him to a few neighbors where he got more candy for daddy and Carly to eat. Rich and I ended up talking to long, so we didn't make it too far. Oh well, their is always next year. Happy Halloween!